Llygoden
Llygoden, In Short The main thing to know about Llygoden (and if you spend any time around her, it's not hard to guess) is that she's not exactly grounded in the same reality as most people. In her version of the world, her dearest friend is Frisky, the Dead Cat (and his companion, Fluffy, the Kitten Skeleton), which really tells you almost all you'd need to know about her; the rest is just details. On the up side, she's able to keep herself entertained for hours. On the down side... well, if you ask her, there isn't one, really. She can "turn off" the crazy for short periods of time, but the voices are always there in her head, so being normal causes her emotional trauma and physical pain (the only thing that does). She tries not to do it unless absolutely necessary. She has an extreme hatred for cats, following from her near-fanatical devotion to mice. She also has absolutely no fear of death, a handy trait when Jaired needs to perform experiments "for science", such as testing a new raise dead item or finding out exactly what happens as a result of using certain spells. Of course, there are reasons for why Llygoden is the way she is... A (Not So Brief) History Lly doesn't really remember much about her past, so asking her for details is likely to get a completely different response from what's here. Quite a lot of it was pieced together by Kivrin and Kaliq, and some of it has come out in flashbacks that she's had while talking to people, or in some of her nightmares. Thanks to Zelia's gift, she doesn't remember these moments for very long. Lly started life in the same manner that many half-breeds do-- in a basket on a doorstep. It's unknown which of her parents was human and which was sylvan, as well as why either of them was living in or near an elven village. It's likely that her mother was the sylph, and came to town to seek assistance with the birth, but it's impossible to know for certain. It's also safe to assume that her mother abandoned her out of shame, but cared enough to try to leave her in capable hands, as the doorstep she was left on happened to be that of the village's healer and potions mistress. Things didn't quite work out that way. The healer woman's hands were capable, yes. And they were also cruel. It soon became apparent to the old woman that Lly's ears weren't quite as pointed as they should be. When this was realized, the woman saw an opportunity; half-breeds weren't really "people". And so, as Lly grew, the woman saw not a little girl, but a creature perfect to test her potions and magic on before giving them to the villagers. Of course, when one is testing healing magics, the subject must have wounds to test them on... it's not necessary to include the details of the torture and abuse she suffered or the effects of the potions that didn't quite work as intended. The end result was that Lly never knew herself as anything but what the healer woman called her: a mouse. She was given the name of Llygoden, the word for "mouse" in some ancient dialect the woman used, and the surname of Tel'Maris, "the Unwanted". The years of injury and experiment were not without their useful side effects, however. Watching the woman treat her wounds, Lly learned much about healing magic. And one of the experiments-gone-wrong in the later years left her immune to physical pain, thus paving the way for her current profession. Occasionally, the woman would send her out on errands to the market. On one of these occasions, Llygoden met a strange-looking girl with wings. Curious, she approached the girl and asked her what manner of creature she was. The girl explained that she was an Aelotoi, a creature from a different world, and gave her name as Kivrin. As they talked, Llygoden began to feel a kinship with Kivrin; here was someone else different from the others around her, with no family remaining to her other than those who had taken her in. After some time, an exceptionally handsome, red-haired elf appeared at Kivrin's side, kissed her on the cheek, and introduced himself to Llygoden as Kivrin's adopted brother, Kaliq. Llygoden was absolutely stunned. She'd never seen someone so handsome, and certainly no elf had ever spoken directly to her. She found herself head-over-heels in love. Nevermind that it wasn't reciprocated... this was a new experience for her, and she found it pleasant. With a bright spot in her otherwise bleak life, Lly found herself humming as she worked for the healer woman, and looking forward to the trips to the market. The old hag wondered what was going on, and followed her one day. She saw the expression on Llygoden's face as she gazed up at Kaliq, and realized that the girl was likely to try to run from her to follow this elf around. That night, Llygoden was beaten nearly to death, every bone broken and both eyes removed. She was left to try to heal herself with the limited magic that she knew. The next morning, the woman went to the market herself, locking the door behind her, and Lly knew that she wouldn't be allowed to leave the house again. After several weeks of not seeing her friend, Kivrin became concerned. Lly had told her she lived with the healing hag, so that night, dressed in dark clothing and moving quietly, she paid a visit. She peered in the window, saw Llygoden bloody and unconscious, and realized that something had to be done. She waited until the old woman had gone to bed, and used her skills as a trained locksmith to gain entry first into the cottage, and then into Llygoden's room. She carried Lly's still form out of the cottage, and then went back in. She found the woman's room, and again using her skills, managed to lock the door from the outside. She quickly rummaged through the cabinets until she found some wine, poured it all over the floor near the bedroom door, dropped a candle onto it, and ran as the flames caught. As Kivrin reached her side, Llygoden revived and saw the flames spreading quickly over the thatched roof and throughout the cottage. She tried to run inside to save the woman (for, even in her cruelty, she was the only family Lly had ever had), but Kivrin held her back. Soon the village was filled with the sounds of people rushing to the cottage. Kivrin turned to Lly and said to her, "You're a half-breed, and you were abused by the hag; they will think that you did this. You need to run." And, having said that, Kivrin took her own advice and fled. Llygoden watched the fire with tears streaming down her face, unable to make herself leave. As the flames died down, the elves saw her standing there, and began shouting and running towards her. This was enough to snap her out of the near-trance, and she turned and fled into the woods behind the cottage, where she found a place to hide. She remained in her hiding place for several days, watching and listening, until they had finally stopped looking for her. Once things seemed safe, she sought Kivrin's home. As she arrived, she saw Kivrin leaving with a heavy satchel over her shoulder. She followed at a distance until they were both well into the woods, and finally approached her. "Kivrin? Where do you go?" she asked. "Not long after you stopped coming to market, Kaliq left to seek his fortune elsewhere. There's nothing left for me here, so I'm going to find him," Kivrin explained. "Please, may I come along? There's nothing left for me, either," Lly said. Kivrin looked her over carefully, then slowly nodded. "Try to keep up," was all she said. Llygoden didn't do a very good job keeping up, but Kivrin left a trail that she could easily follow. And so she arrived in Wehnimer's Landing about a month after Kivrin did. She was reunited with her old friends, but the long journey so soon after the tragedy had taken its toll. She remembered her friends, but only had a vague recollection of events, and an even vaguer knowledge of who she was. She remembered flames, and became convinced that she had started a fire and killed someone, and that this was why she had to flee. And she remembered what she was, all she'd ever been. She was a mouse. Finding Zelia Despite her unwavering belief that she was a small, four-footed, long-tailed animal of the rodent variety, Llygoden managed to make friends quickly in her new home. Surrounded by such friendly people, she was soon able to forget most of her previous life-- except when the nightmares visited her as she slept in the room she shared with Kivrin. She woke up every night from one horrible dream or another; some nights, she was certain she was back in the healer's home, surrounded by flames. Other nights were filled with blood and broken bones and potion after potion, making her sick and dizzy. Nightmares came and went about the villagers chasing her, and finding her in her hiding place. And the worst of all of them, the dreams of the hag's charred corpse seeking vengeance. Every night, she tossed and turned, often crying out in her sleep and waking up screaming. And every night, Kivrin sat at Lly's bedside, holding her hand and stroking her hair, and whispering soothing words to her. She would quietly explain to Lly that she was not, in fact, a mouse, and that the things that had happened to her were over, that she was safe now. Some nights, Lly would open her eyes to gaze upon her protector... in the darkness, Kivrin's face was barely visible, but the moonlight reflected off of her shiny black curls, making her hair appear silvery. As the nightmares lessened, Llygoden became convinced that her benefactor could only be Zelia, come to offer her gift, which Lly readily accepted. Since "Zelia" had told her that she was not a mouse, Llygoden believed this without question, though her belief was grounded in the idea that the goddess had changed her from her mouse form. It wasn't long before she apparently caught the attention of the real thing; she began hearing voices in her head, taking the place of Kivrin's in chasing the nightmares away, and she thanked the Lady Zelia each and every night for this. Zelia's blessing has given her a new life, one with very little sorrow or suffering. Where she might have been lonely, she now has the voices to keep her company; her mind refuses to acknowledge reality as it is, so she no longer fears anything that would have been thought dangerous. She can entertain herself for hours with a towel or a piece of string ("Delightful conversationalists once you get them going!"), so she's rarely bored. And yet, for all of this, there's an odd sort of wisdom hidden behind the insanity... a part of her is always aware of the real world, and occasionally takes over when absolute stability is required. But it soon goes back into hiding, for even that part of her, given the choice, prefers the reality of Zelia's blessing. The Loves of Llygoden And so it seems the lovable lunatic lived her life in endless bliss. But, as is often the case, there were areas where perfection was lacking. And thus we examine her romantic life. The First Love After reuniting with Kivrin and Kaliq, Llygoden resumed her fruitless attempts to win the affections of the latter. Early rejections brought accusations of, "It's because I'm a mouse, isn't it?" Kaliq politely ignored her questions each time the subject of romance was brought up, but Lly refused to give up; that is, refused until the day when a handsome sylvan ranger caught her eye. A Ranger The two spent much time together, hunting, talking, and generally enjoying one another's company. She thought nothing of this, until friends pointed out that it appeared he was "smitten" with her. She wasn't at all sure that this was the case, but she did like the idea. He, however, was not so keen on being the subject of all of the "girltalk", and turned on Lly, suddenly becoming mean. After a few more days, he disappeared, and was not seen again for several years. A Dwarf Some time after that, she met a rather adorable dwarf. A bit on the short side, she thought, but there were ways to remedy that. A quick visit to the New Look Pavilion brought her more to his level; not as big of a deal for her as it would be for most, thanks to her aforementioned immunity to pain. Things were going wonderfully for several months, when one day, he vanished without a word. Like the ranger prior to him, it was years before he was heard from again. A Ranger (Part Two) Quite awhile passed, and she met another ranger. This one was a bit old for her, but he had a kind heart. They hunted for many months, and talked for hours in between hunts. Flowers were given, sweet words were spoken... and then he met someone else. Alas, another not to be. In Which She Is Nearly A Wife Which brings us to the sylvan rogue, her only betrothed thus far. The first several months were a fairytale brought to life, and Lly was happier than she could remember being in a very long time. And then, without any explanation, her rogue demanded the key to his home back and told her that he did still want to marry her, but that he didn't want to see her or speak to her until he had made some decisions. Like others before him, he disappeared, but did tell her goodbye first, and asked her to wait. And wait she did. For six long months, she remained faithful, waiting patiently for his return. Saving the Best for Last: Brinret She spent this time working for the Militia, where she met Brinret. A pure hatred was soon established between them; his cocky attitude annoyed her, and her flightiness drove him nearly as insane as she was. Several times, each threatened to kill the other, and actually attempted to do so on more than one occasion. Brinret was heavily involved with the Guardians of Sunfist, and frankly, he wasn't that good at it back then. Not one to let even her worst enemy rot, Lly was often at his side, healing his mostly-eaten corpse and restoring it to life. At some point during all of this, Brinret fell in love with Llygoden, and managed to convince her that she felt the same way about him. In spite of several months-long disappearances (or maybe because of them), they remain together to this day. Here and Now These days, life is pretty good for our healing heroine. If there was ever a time that she's been happier, she can't remember when it was (but then, she can barely remember yesterday, so maybe that's not the best phrase to use). She's a respected rescuer, a Militia commander, a full-fledged mousekeeper, and the (non-animal) companion to a very handsome half-krolvin. Her nightmares have all but ceased, replaced instead with brightly colored dreams filled with sparkling lights, soothing whispers, and in the best dreams, a visit from the green-eyed, silver-haired woman who changed her life. Category:Platinum Profiles